Strawberry Muffins

A sale on Strawberries meant we had an abundance which also meant that I needed to use them. Well, I needed to be creative as my children love them ‘in’ things but will not just grab one and eat it. One of their favorites is my strawberry bread but I decided to make muffins this time. This is a perfect snack or grab-n-go breakfast.
Ingredients:
1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled, rinsed and cut into pieces
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 salt
2/3 cup agave nectar, light
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce, no sugar added
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with baking spray. In a small saucepan, bring strawberries to a boil over medium heat, mashing gently, while they cook for 1 minute. Pour into a bowl to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat nectar, sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla until combined.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet and fold to combine.
5. Fold in strawberries.
6. Fill muffin pan-makes about 15 muffins or just overfill one pan to make 12 muffins.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Cool completely.

I have also made these using 1/3 cup agave nectar and 1 cup of brown sugar – yummy! Also, easy to freeze so make a few batches.